This year, Money examined 744 communities with populations between 50,000 and 300,000. The magazine first eliminated 343 communities that had poor education and crime scores, median household incomes well above or below the state average or more than 95 percent of residents of the same race.

The top 100 rankings also excluded retirement communities and cities with major job losses. The remainder were ranked based on factors such as job growth, home affordability, safety, school quality, health care, arts and leisure and diversity.